The Furry Case of the Unfriendly Sender
by ChaoticDreamz
Summary: Being the son of Harry Potter wasn't easy but James couldn't say that it was boring either. Especially when he had the company of a certain 'bouncing ferret' and fellow prankster cousin to help him stir up a bit of trouble as well as find it.


**Warning:** Irregular chapter update; may or may not contain slash… I'll let you know if anything else comes up…

**Disclaimer:** Really? Do you really think I own something as brilliant as this? Do you know what I'd do?

**AN:** First Harry Potter story I've written. It was an idea that floated around for a long while… feel free to read and review! I don't mind any kind of feedback (as long as you're not a douche bag about it). Rated T just in case (because I'm bad at that sort of thing)

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

It was surprising when you thought about it. Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived, Savior of the Wizarding World, was not aware that another wizard had been living under his own roof with him, his wife and children for around six months. Granted said wizard was stuck in the form of a ferret and because of his job as an Auror, Harry wasn't home as much as he'd like to notice there was even a ferret in the house.

James watched as said ferret lazily dozed on the desk next to his bed. The ferret's light blonde fur, so light that it was almost silver-white, shined under the cool light of the moon through the window. His clawed paws tucked gently under his head as he slept on his belly next to the Marauder's Map that James had snuck from his father's desk. He was just borrowing it for a short amount of time…

That is… if a short amount of time meant indefinitely…

Draco shifted slightly from his position, stretched himself, sighed contently and then curled up to continue his doze. Watching Draco dozing contently there made it hard for James to believe that almost six months before he had somehow found and saved the ferret-wizard from dying in the snow. Of course, James hadn't realized that the ferret was a wizard until after his life was saved and Draco spoke to him telepathically, which came as a surprise to the both of them. Along with his name, James learned that Draco knew both his father and mother as well as some of his extended family, had gone to school with them when they were younger, and would appreciate it if James could keep him being a wizard, or his entire existence if possible, a secret from them thank you very much.

Originally Draco had planned on leaving James and his family well alone after he had gotten better, stuck seemingly forever in a furry form or not. _'Getting out of your hair,' _he had said or something like that. But it seemed as though something was keeping Draco here even after he had fully recovered, as it was summer now and he had not left after six months. Truthfully James was glad and a little relieved that Draco had decided not to leave yet, as he had found a friend in the cute but sarcastic albino ferret and hated the thought of saying good-bye and seeing him go.

James wouldn't call him cute out loud of course, not unless he wanted the ferret-wizard to claw his eyes out. Besides, James thought, it would be too unmanly of him to say the word _cute_ out loud. And it wouldn't do to be unmanly.

'_Since when are you not unmanly?'_

James jerked in surprise and scowled at the now awake ferret when he realized it was Draco's voice talking in his head. He was still trying to get used to that: hearing Draco in his head. He was getting better at it though.

"I thought you were sleeping?" James whispered. Draco opened one eye.

'_I was, but you were thinking too loudly. Should stop before you hurt yourself,'_ Draco huffed. James raised an eyebrow fondly at Draco's antics. James knew he meant it in a teasing way and that Draco didn't really mean it, no matter how many times Draco would splutter his denials. James was about to reply but was interrupted before he could.

"You're not talking to your ferret again are you?"

James turned around at the sound of his cousin's voice. Fred was about the only other person that James knew who definitely knew about Draco besides himself. Albus and Lily were probably suspicious that Draco wasn't your average ferret but they had yet to say anything about it.

"Hey, have fun terrorizing the babysitter?" James said ignoring Fred's question. Fred was not only his cousin of the same age but his best friend and partner in crime. He was also sleeping over for the week.

"Yeah, you should have seen her face when she started hiccuping flies!" Fred cackled. James laughed out loud while Draco wriggled his nose in disgust. If they listened closely they could hear choking screams coming from the downstairs area.

Since neither of the Potter children's parents could be home a lot of the time because of their job, Harry being an Auror and busy catching bad guys and Ginny being a Quidditch player and traveling the world playing… well... Quidditch, they had taken to either hiring a babysitter to watch over their children or asking family and friends. With James being the eldest of his siblings at the age of eleven, he wasn't allowed to watch over his younger siblings as he was considered too young. And many of their relatives and extended family and friends were either busy or lived too far away, so their only choice was hiring a babysitter.

This idea tended to be a disaster as many of the babysitters tended to only apply for the job because of who Harry and Ginny were and their well known reputation. It didn't help that James was a prankster and that his antics usually drove most of the babysitters crazy or away. Whichever one came first.

The fact that Fred was sleeping over with them now only made it worse.

'_Off to bed, both of you! I don't want to hear anymore about whether or not your stunts have driven your babysitters mad tonight,' _Draco made a chatty noise as he said this to James…er thought… you get the idea. James rolled his eyes but he passed the message to Fred and they both complied anyway. They figured that if they went to bed early then they'd wake up early to scheme up more pranks to terrorize the unfortunate babysitter.

* * *

_Pain. _

_He could feel bursts of it throughout his entire being as his body contorted into a form that was terrifyingly and embarrassingly familiar. There were screams and angry yelling, as the structure he was in shook with explosions that seemingly erupted everywhere._

_Magic. _

_He could feel it dangerously pulsing in the air and it made his hair stand up. Something was wrong. This magic was terrifying and wild and unlike anything that would come from a witch's or wizard's spell casting. _

_He knew he had to leave. Escape. Now. Now, now, now._

_Moving his new form, Draco felt as if he was being torn apart from every angle. He was injured and the wild magic that swirled around only made it worse. Draco could feel a blinding pressure from within in him and felt it trying to tug and pull something away. Something important. He tried to ignore the pain and pressure as he fled. He didn't know where he was going but he knew he had to get as far away as possible._

_He didn't know how long he had run for or how far. He only knew that sooner or later he collapsed, and found it difficult to get up and move. He couldn't feel anything except for the ache and the cold. He tried to breathe and found even that was difficult to do. _

_The pressure was back and it continued its tug and pull until he could literally feel his life, his very essence slip away as if there was nothing there to anchor it. Afraid, Draco tried to move, tried to call out for help, but all he could do was shiver and make weak sounds. _

_Suddenly he felt tired and his conscious was starting to fade as the darkness in the corner of his eyes reached out towards him._

_Draco thought he heard something. Thought he felt something, but he couldn't be too sure. It was hard to focus on any of his senses as they were fading too. _

_He was fading away._

_And then he wasn't. He could suddenly feel something grasp at the core of his very being and push the pressure away. He could feel it as the warmth wrapped itself around him and entangled itself into his very being, keeping him anchored. Keeping him safe._

_Draco was suddenly aware that someone was cradling his small form close to them and was carrying him somewhere. He wanted to open his eyes but found that he couldn't as he listened to their frantic whispers._

_And then he was aware of nothing._

* * *

Draco jerked awake. For a moment he was afraid that he was back in the snow that night, six months ago. But no, it was just a dream, just a memory that had long since passed.

Draco looked out from his shoebox bed from under James' bed. It was morning already and the boys who had occupied the room earlier were now gone.

'_Up to no good no doubt,'_ Draco thought fondly. Despite Draco's best efforts, he had grown fond of the Potter children and their cousins and found that he was a bit reluctant to leave them. He wouldn't admit that out loud of course. Draco fond of the Potter children. _Potter's _children. Honestly, what would people say?

Probably nothing since he had practically disappeared from the wizarding world...

What had cemented his decision to stay was the fact that he had noticed that there had been recent ill-willed attempts of harm that frequently visited the Potters during his long stay.

Truthfully not all of the Potters' babysitters were driven away by James and Fred's antics. Some of the reasons that the worthless twats quit was because they had received something nasty that they thought was meant for them. Which was silly because really, who would send _you_ something when you were in _someone else's_ house. Honestly, Draco sometimes couldn't believe the incompetence of these hired babysitters. Better them than the children though he supposed.

It was harmless pranks at first. Things like mail and packages laced with booger hexes or something equally silly. But Draco knew that the risk was starting to escalate as just last week the babysitter before this one, fell victim to a spell that ended up chopping off all her hair. And the babysitter before that one left because one of the packages he opened caused his nose to enlarge and swell to an abnormal size.

It may seem harmless and funny but Draco knew that it could've had deadly results. Having only one's hair chopped off was lucky as the spell that caused it was able to chop off smaller body parts. And the babysitter before could have suffocated from an enlarged and swelling tongue or had his eyeballs explode from his head if that spell had ended up hitting somewhere else.

So Draco had ended up spending the last couple of months watching over the children and the babysitter and trying to steer them away from things that could have dangerous and morbid results. The children he had more success with, the babysitters… not so much…

But the attempts at severely maiming and injuring weren't the only things that Draco had on his plate. He also had to find out the solution to his current furry situation, how to avoid being found out by any of the children's adult family members, and how James had saved him. He had a feeling that if he could find the answer to the latter question then it would also probably answer how he was able to communicate with James at all. Unfortunately James wasn't entirely sure on what he did either, just that Draco was okay after being cared for, so that wasn't much help. There was also the fact that he couldn't remember much of what had happened to have caused him to be on death's doorstep. Just the flashes he had when dreaming were one of his only clues.

A horrified screech rudely interrupted him from his thoughts.

'_So much for hoping for an uneventful day,'_ he thought as he stretched and clambered out of his shoebox bed. Draco then scampered out of the room hoping that it was one of Fred and James' pranks and not their recent unfriendly sender.

* * *

**AN:** I have to admit that this is the longest chapter I've written. Ever. I know, it's sad. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you leave a review! Feedback is always nice. Whether it's a compliment, a statement, or a criticism...


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